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Greetings technologically impaired veterans and young lazy slobs alike.
You! Yes, you, the guy still using the Mibbit web client! Ditch that shit and start using a real client!

The main reason why I am writing this guide is because many users are stuck using the Mibbit web client. The web client isn't really in high regard in most networks and OFTC is no exception. Basically it's an easy client to use for questionable actions and whatnot. This is why at times, when trying to log into the OFTC network it will tell you you are banned. Basically OFTC network is restricting access from the Mibbit web client, which affects legit users as well.

Now, using a browser based client may seem convenient, fast to start using etc, however this is very short sighted. Using a browser based client is like pissing your pants in the winter to feel warm for 10 seconds.
Who here hasn't accidentally closed a browser tab containing the web client?
Who here hasn't had their browser crash taking the entire chat with it?
Who here hasn't gotten a banned message while trying to log in using Mibbit?
These among other things are all issues that will be a thing in the past if you start using a proper client.
So what's your excuse? You don't know how? You're too lazy? I can't help you if its the latter but I will do what I can to make it easier and more convenient.
So let us get down to business...

Step 1

Finding a client. You are free to go search for a client you like best but it's up to you to configure it to your liking. In this how-to I will be covering the basic installing and configuring steps for installing X-Chat, they may be usefull for a person configuring another client software. I chose X-Chat because I find it easy, simple and straightforward to use and have it as my backup client so I can provide support when needed. It is also FREE and available for both Windows and Mac (and Linux) as different versions.
You can find X-Chat 2, the free client for Windows here: http://www.silverex.org/download
You can find X-Chat Azure in the AppStore, links here: http://xchataqua.github.io/
Download the corresponding version and install it normally, select the "Normal installation".

Step 2

I will now cover the steps for the Windows version, the steps taken with XChat Azure might be a bit different but generally the same.
After you have installed it, start the program, I recommend running the program as administrator when configuring it. (Right click > Run as administrator)
This is approximately what the first window will look like.

Write your preferred Nick name (and alternative nicks if you like).
You have to input something into the User name and Real name boxes as well. You don't have to put your real name there, your nick, user and real names can all be one and the same. User and real name will be available to other users if they want to get more information about you on the channel for example with the /who command.

Step 3

Next scroll down in the Networks list and find OFTC, this is the network where our channel is currently located. Select OFTC from the list and click Edit. A new window will pop open.

In this menu I recommend you tick the box next to Auto connect to this network at startup, when ticked it automatically connects to the OFTC network and your favourite channels the moment you you start the program. The servers are correct and you won't need to touch them.
Next click the "..." button next to Favourite channels and a new window will pop open.

Click Add and in the Channel column write our channel which is of course #sharpthings and then press enter. Don't write anything in the Key column.

Click on OK to close the window

It should now look like this with #sharpthings listed in Favourite channels. If everything is ok, click Close.

Step 4

Once the nick and network settings are done you can click Connect to connect to OFTC and #sharpthings.

The main window looks like this. In the left column you can find the channels and private messages with other users, in the right column you can see the users in the channel and above the chat box you can find the channel topic.

Finally to make things a bit less confusing for some people, lets tweak the settings one last bit. Open your tray (bottom right corner of your screen) and find the XChat tray icon.

And in the Settings tab untick the first option Minimize X-Chat to the system tray.

Unlike writing this guide, installing X-Chat should be quick and painless. This is basically all you need to do to get a good experience from using IRC on X-Chat. The following extra sections are for people who wish to tweak it a bit further.

Extra 1

First we will look at some extra settings settings. From the top menu bar select Settings > Preferences and in the new window go to Alerts.

Here you can tweak what type of messages alert you, only highlighted messages (when someone mentions your nick) and private messages will be highlighted by default. If you want channel messages to alert you you can set it so. You can also add other highlighted words in the same section.

Extra 2

Does the all white appearance of the client bother you during late hours or do you think it would look better black? Well then this is the section for you!

First step is to go here http://www.silverex.org/faq/ and have a look at question #7. Download the zip-file in the link provided in the answer. Close X-Chat if it is still running.
Open the zip-file, Windows should do it without problems. Copy the files pevents.conf, palette.conf and colors.conf.
Next navigate to the following location C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\X-Chat 2, if you can't see the AppData folder  please consult this guide: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-see-hidden-files-in-windows/
Once you have found your way into the right folder paste the 3 files into that folder replacing the old ones. This changes the colors of the chat box background to black and tweaks the other colors as well.

Second step is to go to your Windows start menu, select All programs and find the X-Chat 2 folder and start the Theme Utility.  At this point X-Chat shouldn't be running. Here you will find a list of possible themes you can use, by clicking the themes you can see what they look like. If you installed the blacktheme.zip I would recommend either Aurora-Midnight or Nodoka-Midnight, both are very dark themes. End result should look something like this.

I also changed the channel column from the left to the bottom. You can do this by selecting View>Channel switcher>Tabs.

Extra 3

"Help, this beeping is driving me crazy! It beeps everytime I press backspace too many times. Make it go away!"
Lucky for you there is a fix for it.
One method is to disable the system beep entirely: http://www.7tutorials.com/how-disable-system-beep-windows-7
And another one is the one described here: http://blog.joelj.org/2010/02/28/xchatpidgin-beeping-on-backspace/
Make sure X-Chat isn't running. What you have to do is open Notepad.exe and run it as administrator.
File>Open and in the new window select All files (*.*) from the dropdown menu in the bottom right corner dropdown menu.
Navigate to C:\Prograrm files\X-Chat 2\etc\gtk-2.0 and open the file gtkrc.
Then copy paste the following line at the end of the file.

gtk-error-bell = 0

Once it has been added File>Save and it should be saved and there should be no more beeping

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me on the channel or via PM.

Upon request I made a map in Google Maps where we can all add ourselves. :)
To add yourself you will need some sort of Google account and be logged in to add yourself.

Instructions:
1. Click the link to open up the map.
2. Click the Edit button next to the map title. (1st pic)
3. Find your location in the map.
4. Click the blue teardrop shaped icon in the upper left of the map, now drag it to your location and click again to drop it there. (2nd pic)
5. In the bubble window write your nick in the Title box. You can also write additional info in the Description box and choose a different icon by clicking the blue teardrop icon to get a new window. (To get a custom icon select My icons and provide a link to an image of your choice.) :)

If you are experiencing trouble adding yourself or don't have a Google account, just comment below with your city/state/country and I'll add you myself.
 

I'll show you mine if you show me yours! (twss)

It's nice to know who you are talking to...for months I thought Travis was Cluster standing on his head. So I thought some faces to put with a name might help a bit for all the Sharpthings Chatters

Post your most recent pic so we can see your sorry face!